My creative workbook

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to use sisal to make armatures.

Sisal armatures are rigid and ready to use as is, but if it needs to travel to a location before you design with it or if it is going to be handled often, it is safer to add a chicken wire frame to the design.

Cut the chicken-wire to fit your shape. Add a wire frame if it suits your design

Slip the sisal around the frame and secure with wire

And glue in the additional plant material

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to make the leaf curls

More design ideas:

Fit the chicken-wire inside the disk shape.

Dip the tepals of a protea flower in thinned glue and scatter...

...to conceal the wire

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to peel a protea flower.

Or cover a few disks with Protea bracts and Leukadendron leaves

Or wrap the shape in a sphere of chicken-wire

and dip some Tortum snippets in glue and scatter all over the frame and sisal

Or place the wire inside the shape and wrap in copper wire and shape.

I used a copper pot scrubber that I unravelled to make twig garlands, curls and baubles with. See the Tutorials below for more detailed instructions

Weave the copper twig garlands around and through the armature frame

The armatures are now ready to design with. I placed my armatures on three legged acrylic tubes. See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to design on three legs

This is my ongoing creative workbook to research and capture design projects and techniques. You will mostly find ideas for floral art but I will also include some other projects such as gift packaging, cards and even cake decorating with a few lifestyle
projects arranged in between.

Everything you see in this workbook was designed, made and photographed by me, unless specific credit is given to another designer.

Videos

Book cover design: the effortless floral craftsman, a floral crafter’s guide to crafting with nature